Definition
Locus sigilli (Latin: "the place of the seal") is a phrase inscribed on formal legal documents to mark the physical location where a seal is to be affixed or where a seal was once required. It appears in written instruments — deeds, contracts, bonds, and other formal documents — and is almost universally abbreviated to L.S. In modern practice, the printed letters "L.S." appear beside or beneath a signature line as a substitute for an actual wax or wafer seal, signaling that the document is intended to have the legal effect of a sealed instrument.
Common Confusion
Locus sigilli is sometimes confused with the seal itself. The phrase does not constitute a seal — it designates the location where a seal belongs or where one is deemed to have been placed. In jurisdictions that still recognize the legal distinction between sealed and unsealed instruments, the presence of L.S. may be treated as a constructive seal, but this is a legal fiction, not a physical act. Researchers encountering L.S. in historical documents should not assume that an actual wax seal was applied; nor should they assume in modern documents that no sealing formality was intended simply because no wax is present.
Why It Matters in Research
The practical significance of locus sigilli is almost entirely a product of its historical context, which makes it a navigational trap for researchers working across time periods.
In early Anglo-American law, sealing a document carried substantial legal consequences: it extended the statute of limitations (often from six years to ten or twenty), it affected the rules of consideration (a sealed instrument required none), and it governed which procedural forms of action applied. Whether L.S. alone — without wax or an embossed impression — satisfied the sealing requirement was contested across jurisdictions and across centuries. Researchers working in nineteenth-century American case law will find significant disagreement among state courts on exactly this point.
Modern statutes in most U.S. jurisdictions have abolished or sharply curtailed the legal distinction between sealed and unsealed instruments, rendering L.S. largely ceremonial. But the transition was not uniform and was not simultaneous. A document from 1870 must be read under different assumptions than a document from 1970, even if both carry the notation L.S.
For corpus researchers, this creates two traps. First, a historical source discussing "sealed instruments" may or may not address whether L.S. alone suffices — an omission that can mislead researchers into overreading the notation. Second, the abbreviation L.S. appears in primary sources without explanation, and researchers unfamiliar with the Latin phrase may not recognize it as a legal designation at all. Always check the governing jurisdiction's statutory treatment of sealed instruments for the date of the document in question.
Historical Dictionary Support
The three shelf sources are in complete agreement: Black's, Rapalje & Lawrence, and Burrill all define locus sigilli as "the place of the seal" and note the standard abbreviation L.S. The definitions are substantively identical, and none diverges on the core meaning.
What the historical dictionaries do not address is the legal consequence of L.S. as a constructive seal. All three treat the phrase as a descriptive label — where the seal goes — without engaging the contested question of whether the notation, standing alone, satisfies sealing requirements in the absence of an actual seal. Burrill adds the phrase "the place occupied by the seal of written instruments," which marginally emphasizes that the seal has a designated position on the face of the document, but this adds no analytical content. Researchers should not rely on any of these entries for guidance on the legal effect of the notation; that question requires consultation of jurisdiction-specific treatises and case law.
Jurisdictional Note
The legal significance of L.S. varies considerably by jurisdiction and era. Most U.S. states have enacted statutes abolishing or equalizing sealed and unsealed instruments for contract purposes, but some retain distinctions for deeds and other instruments affecting real property. English practice historically treated the seal as indispensable to a deed's validity; American courts diverged substantially on whether a printed L.S. was sufficient. Researchers working across jurisdictions should not assume uniform treatment.
Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
See Law Mind Encyclopedia — Seals and Sealed Instruments
See also Law Mind Encyclopedia — Formal Requirements of Deeds; Statute of Limitations (Historical)